The City of Denver and DIA claim they were promoting the new nonstop, low-cost flights on Lufthansa to Paris — advertised as cheap as $300 a booking — when they flew there last month for a so-called economic development, trade and tourism mission.
But now thanks to a CBS4 investigation, they’ve all been exposed as a bunch of hypocrites, and pampered ones at that.
Mayor Hancock’s round-trip ticket cost $8,000. That’s just a tad buttload more than the $16,000 tickets purchased by some DIA employees.
The director of Denver’s Office of Economic Development, paid more than $12,500 for his ticket.
They all flew in premium class, and although the trips was planned well in advance, many didn’t buy their tickets until the last minute, further driving up costs.
Plus, a DIA spokesflak insisted the entourage required premium travel seats rather than coach, so they could all be rested when they arrived.
Apparently, the commoners flying coach are beneath their association and just too rowdy.
Hancock explained away the extravagance in a statement, acknowledging that buying the tickets earlier might have been a little less costly, but “would have been inconvenient.”
It might have been their intention to use this trip as a promotion of discount air flights, but it’s turned out to be the worst ad ever —fly like a peasant for $300 in cargo with circus animals and get no sleep, or cough up a year of mortgage payments and travel like royalty!
In a bonus round of answers, the spokesflack said they purchased the more expensive tickets because “We try very hard to support our airlines with non- stop flights and part of that is flying in the front of the plane.” That doesn’t sound at all like some sort of sketchy kick-back scheme.
About 30 people from the city and DIA went on the trip, and at least seven of those return tickets alone cost a total of $47,000, CBS4 reported.
The total cost of the trip for 30 people was nearly $400,000, and paid for by DIA.